Meet Tava, a twenty-four-year-old medical student in a deep depression. Alice, her friend and housemate, is trying to figure out how to support her. Time unravels, leaving both women bewildered at the emotional landscapes that have opened before them.

Eyes Too Dry started out as a series of private conversations between the authors by way of a comic-in-correspondence. Their decision to make this work public was fuelled by their struggle to find stories and artwork that spoke to their experiences of encountering depression, suicidal ideation and emotional weight. In a world that tells us to “keep calm and carry on” they are offering a narrative that is vulnerable, honest and uncertain. They hope to add new ways to talk about, visualise and relate to these complex emotions.

About the Author

Alice Chipkin and Jessica Tavassoli are two 25 year-old queer women living in Melbourne, Australia. Eyes Too Dry is their debut work and first collaborative project, with Chipkin’s roots in education, writing and photography, and Tavassoli’s in drawing and medicine.

Their decision to make this work public was fuelled by their struggle to find stories and artwork that spoke to their experiences of encountering depression, suicidal ideation and emotional weight. And from Alice’s perspective as a primary support person in particular, there was almost nothing at all.

In a world that tells us to 'keep calm and carry on' the authors are offering a narrative that is vulnerable, honest and uncertain. They hope to add new ways to talk about, visualise and relate to these complex emotions.

'I have never seen mental illness depicted in this way, and the illustrations convey the physical and emotional toll of depression more powerfully than anything I've ever seen before. This is an important book about a topic that still holds so much stigma, and the more people that read it the better.' Rebecca Shaw 'To struggle with the textures of our mental landscape can feel like the most brutalizing, lonely thing. What Chipkin and Tavassoli have gifted us is one-of-a-kind: the lens of kinship. Through their dual perspectives, we eavesdrop on a tender conversation: How can I be there for you? and How can I not push you away? While most media focuses on the so-called failures or successes of mentally ill people to regain normalcy, these artists keep their focus on relationship. We witness questions of health and the realities of illness as traversed through that most precious, private kingdom: homiedom. The depth and nuance of these pages is treasure in the palm.' Shira Erlichman